All Balance of Payments figures and International Investment Position publications released from today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics will now follow new international standards set by the International Monetary Fund.

The first effect of these new standards on "live" data will be reflected in the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia, September Quarter 1997 (Cat No. 5302.0), to be released next Monday 1 December.

These new standards have meant changes to the presentation and concepts of both Balance of Payments and International Investment Position statistics. The new standards define new accounts within the Balance of Payments, and derive the balances at different points. For example, the current account is now defined differently, and thus it means deriving a new balance (generally increasing this balance by about $2 billion per annum in recent years).

To give analysts an idea of how these new changes affect the major aggregates, the June quarter 1997 Balance Of Payments and International Investment Position figures have been re-released today in Information Paper: Upgraded Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Statistics (Cat No. 5365.0). The Information Paper is being supplied on a complimentary basis to subscribers to ABS international accounts publications and is available in all ABS bookshops.

Since these new international standards were announced in 1993 the ABS has been working with clients and analysts of the data to ensure the smooth transfer across to the new classification system. The impact of the new standards was described in detail in the Information Paper Implementing New International Statistical Standards in ABS International Accounts Statistics (Cat No. 5364.0) released in September 1997.

The ABS places considerable emphasis on the compilation and presentation of statistics that conform with international statistical standards. This ensures that Australia's reporting obligations to international agencies are met and allows analysts to evaluate Australia's statistics in a common framework along with those of other countries.

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